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Cybersecurity in the 21st Century

The need for American cyber-security, in this day and age, is paramount.. The wars of the 21st century may be fought on plains in Eastern Europe, mountains in Afghanistan, Iraqi deserts, or the blue waters of the Pacific, but they will certainly be fought in trans-continental fiber-optic cables, and communication satellites in geostationary orbit.

In a potential war scenario, cyber-attacks would be absolutely devastating. If North Korea’s missile tests could’ve been hacked by the Pentagon, there is no reason why China cannot hack American missiles, and send them into the Pacific Ocean instead of at a vital military base. There is no reason that a power like Russia couldn’t obtain extremely classified information regarding American war plans. On the battlefield, there is no reason why Iran or North Korea couldn’t breach the chain of command and cause mayhem. Given enough time and technological advancement, the cyber-attack capabilities of all nations around the world will outpace the cyber defense capabilities of all nations. Just like Germany’s advanced tactics in World War 2 outpaced the conventional thinking of World War 1, so too will advanced cyber warfare technologies and systems outpace conventional technological thinking.

Nevertheless, the Allies won World War 2 because they could adapt to and beat the Blitzkrieg. The United States must adapt to and beat new cyber-threats. Mandating the teaching of computer coding in the US education system is a good place to start-not only does it provide a vital job skill, but it would help the government identify new researchers to build new cyber-security mechanisms, as well as develop technological literacy. In addition, the United States must spend on cyber-security. The F-35 Lightning II fighter cost 1.5 trillion dollars, and still has numerous problems. A few billion dollars to improve government servers and make them hard to breach would save billions of dollars down the line. Punishing companies for being neglectful with the data of their own clients would also be a step in the right direction. Regardless, it is time that America opens its eye to the 4th theater of warfare: cyberspace.